ABOUT

During the Q&A section of Paola's first Sofar Sounds show, an audience member asked, "I love your songwriting, but what does your music sound like when things are going well?" Thus was born Paola's unique brand of "sadgirl folk." While evoking the melancholy sweetness of Sara Bareilles and Joni Mitchell, and lush intimations of her native New England, her music has a haunting edge and electric grit all its own.

Storytelling is a natural instinct: As a teenager she gained considerable acclaim, from showrunners and authors alike, for her early songs based on her favorite stories. After self-producing her first EP in 2013, she worked independently with songwriting legend Scarlet Keys to hone most of the songs on the second, Something to Win (2014). In December 2016, she put out The Shoebox EP, her first studio release and the result of an Indiegogo campaign which raised 30 percent beyond its target goal. "For years, I've kept various mementos in shoeboxes: old notes, gifts, objects [with] some kind of significance," she wrote of the project. "Most of the time, though, those shoeboxes stay dusty and tucked away in my basement, rarely seeing daylight. The songs on this EP are much the same: [they] forced me to deal with something painful in my life, some kind of vulnerability."

She is slated to release her first single in nearly two years in July 2018, the first hint at a full-length release in the works.

She currently lives, records and performs live in New York City.

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"That voice. That hauntingly angelic voice. It conveys so much emotion —— such a broad, nuanced range of emotion —— all while seeming wispy and thin, yet subtly rich and full of power. Fragile power."